Bridge Incident Registry
Incident case

ChainSwap July 2, 2021 exploit

An attacker exploited the ChainSwap bridge and withdrew assets from wallets that had interacted with it. The team froze the bridge and nodes, deployed a fix, and estimated total damage at approximately $800,000.

reviewedcurrent

Incident facts

Incident title
ChainSwap July 2, 2021 exploit
Bridge
ChainSwap
Incident date
2021-07-02
Incident type
Exploit
Major incident
Yes
Affected chains
Ethereum, BNB Chain, Unknown
Affected assets
Unknown
Attack category
Cross Chain Contract Exploit
Reported loss
Approximately $800,000
Recovery
Partial Recovery
Reimbursement
In Progress
Restart
Reopened
Current outcome
Active After Incident
Resolution
Unresolved
Last reviewed
2026-07-28
Last verified
2026-07-28

Timeline events

  • ChainSwap froze the bridge after the first July exploit2021-07-02

    ChainSwap reported freezing the bridge and shutting down nodes after detecting anomalous withdrawals, with a fix deployed shortly afterward.

    Exploit Detected And Bridge PausedHigh

  • ChainSwap announced treasury-funded compensation2021-07-04

    The team said affected users would be compensated from the ChainSwap treasury and described full compensation as almost complete.

    Compensation Plan AnnouncedHigh

  • ChainSwap bridge relaunched after the July incident period2021-08-20

    ChainSwap announced that its bridge was live again after integrating with Anyswap and completing the post-July remediation period.

    Bridge ReopenedHigh

Evidence records

Known unknowns